What’s in a Name? How Patient Perceptions Are Impacted by How They Address Their Psychiatrists

Abstract

Studies have shown that patients are more willing to share with a doctor perceived as professional, competent, empathic, and trustworthy. One of the first lessons taught to first-year medical students in clinical medicine is the importance of empathy. A systematic review found that a patient’s perception of their clinician showing empathy was associated with higher patient satisfaction, better psychological adjustment, and less psychological distress among cancer patients.1 In psychiatry, the alliance between the doctor and patient was shown through a recent meta-analysis to be correlated with outcomes in psychotherapy.2 Several studies have shown that a patient’s perception of the doctor affects the relationship. Patients were shown to perceive physicians as more trustworthy and competent when the physician was professionally dressed,3 and were more willing to report symptoms to a physician described as high in technical and social competence.4 Patients also experience physicians who sit as more empathic and competent than those who stand during the encounter.5